Our Services
- Safety Assessments
- Human Factors
- Technical Assurance
- Range & Trial Activities
- Unmanned Air Vehicles
- General Technical Support
Safety Assessments
Our range of safety related services include the creation of safety arguments. These are often associated with large, complex and domain diverse systems, products, and facilities; as well as lesser activities which interface with and support extant entities.
Our Staff and Associates have a myriad of experience in constructing and analysing safety assessments in the following (non-exhaustive) domains; Unmanned Systems, Weapon Systems, Radar Systems, Telemetry Systems, Timing Systems, High Integrity Independent Termination & Control Systems, Complex Test, Evaluation, Research & Proof Ranges (from areas as diverse as Small Arms trials to Complex Guided Weapon activities), Weapons, Ordnance, Munition and Explosives (WOME), and Advanced Disrupting Technologies (RF & Laser).
SSO offers clients the ability to create safety assessments for legacy processes or equipment, as well as carrying out bespoke sensitivity analysis on in-service and/or future developmental systems. By working intimately with the client we can often help guide on the most appropriate approach to take in satisfying safety targets, regulatory compliance and any other aspects of delivery.
SSO have significant experience in constructing complex arguments which demonstrate that risks associated with specialist activities are as Low As Reasonably Practicable ‘ALARP’; such activities support with the legal requirements for high hazard activity management, including the Control Of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH).
Human Factors
It is commonly accepted that most accidents and incidents in daily life, let alone in high-hazard, high-consequence activities, find their root cause in human error, or human-driven deviations from established practice and process. Significant reductions in these type of accidents and incidents can be achieved by educating a workforce in Human Factors, as has been demonstrated by the aviation industry.
The Human Factors training offered by SSO provides an overview and appreciation of human limitations, including decision making, teamwork, culture and other factors that affect the manifestation of human error or deviations. An educated workforce is more likely to have the ability to recognise these aforementioned pitfalls and seek to avoid them, thus reducing risk within your business.
Whilst the focus of the training is on safety, the lessons within may be applied to all aspects of business, including accounting errors, engineering operations and even project management.
SSO’s Human Factors courses can be tailored to your industry and organisation, as well as address explicit challenges that you may be facing.
Technical Assurance
Many of SSO’s Staff and Associates have experience of both facilitating and chairing technical assurance workshops, independent review boards or panels, and associated meetings. Their experiences ensures a richness of diversity, especially in high-hazard, high-consequence environments. SSO offers wholly independent, bespoke and discreet Technical Assurance, which encompasses the facilitation of support with a company’s requirement for demonstrable Corporate Governance. We are experienced in the use of security cleared Staff and Associates, as well as Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), thereby allowing us to offer advice and assurance in especially sensitive areas and/or projects.
This service is focused on providing the client with confidence that their facilities, processes and staff are demonstrably aligned with legal compliance and the application of what is considered good practice within their industry. Following initial consultation this service may include reviews of the extant Safety Management System (SMS), its daily application within the business, and ultimately the provision of recommendations focused on self-sustaining organic improvement.
Involving SSO’s services at an early stage in a project’s lifecycle, or indeed in the midst of extant activities, is an opportunity to obtain specialist advice and guidance, on planned as well as current activities. Because our Staff and Associates are wholly independent, and not immersed in your facilities and/or projects, we can provide an impartial view of how it will deliver, and thus potentially identify areas which may require additional focus.
Range & Trial Activities
Many of SSO’s Staff and Associates have operated for considerable years across the UK Ministry of Defence’s complex Test, Evaluation, Research & Proof (TERP) Ranges; some have also operated on a number of other Commercial and Military operated Ranges.
SSO’s Staff and Associates have extensive experience of solution leading, technical planning, safety assessing, and facilitating the regulatory approval of the most complex trial activities conducted within the UK over the past three decades. Our non-exhaustive list of experience includes small, medium and large calibre gun systems; static arena and fuel-fire trials; air, land and sea launched ballistic and guided weapons trials, including Ballistic Missile Defence related activities; unmanned air, land and sea vehicle trials; directed energy high power radio-frequency and laser trials; Supersonic Long Test Track; and commercial space launch preparation and consultancy.
Combining its vast technical experience and professional underpinning with comprehensive industry and regulatory networks, SSO is the supplier of choice for trials and high hazard activity management and consultancy.
Unmanned Air Vehicles/Systems
SSO can provide safety advice, flight training and ongoing support on a wide variety of Unmanned/ Uninhabited Air Systems/Vehicles (UAV/UAS). Our suite of services include; support towards compliance with UK Law (both Civil and Military Authorisation); advice on Engineering and Operational principles to create and maintain Operations Manuals for various classes of UAV/UAS; assistance with compiling applications for Permissions for Commercial Operations (PfCO).
Our experience includes both Visual Line of Site (VLOS) and Extended Line of Site (ELOS) applications; SSO partners with accredited organisations for Unmanned Aircraft Qualifications (UAQ), thereby delivering an holistic service in this domain.
Our experience and technical knowledge allow us to guide and support on new, novel or bespoke activities, -including high risk and counter-UAV/UAS applications. SSO’s experience in high-hazard, high-consequence environments includes; the provision of advice on Imaging and Sensor packages; platform augmentation and integration; interoperability with energetic systems (e.g. Electro-Explosive Devices (EED), and other considerations such as Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC); and the safety management of methods of disruption or defeat.
General Technical Support
SSO’s extensive experience of complex systems, combined with the provision of independent technical assurance and holistic safety management, provides a very useful and powerful ally for our clients.
Our services not only support transitory client tasks, SSO also offers scalable opportunities for clients to receive enduring wider organisational support. Such services are carefully crafted to meet the client’s requirements, often in support of complex, hazardous, sensitive and/or highly regulated environments.
Given the nature of many of the services that we offer, absolute discretion is assured.
Please contact us directly for more information or to discuss your requirements.